Yule Be Magical (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 8) by Sara Bourgeois (popular novels TXT) 📗

going back to Bootique to see if he’d left anything behind as a ruse to get her talking about Jeremy’s visit,” I said and bit my bottom lip.

“So, you don’t really care if he left anything behind or not?” Thorn said.

“I don’t,” I said. “Do you believe me?”

“I do, Kinsley. I believe you, so let’s finish this report about your tires and get home. Let me go talk to Tucker and see if his security camera picked up anything helpful,” Thorn said.

I followed him into the store and waited while they talked. Tucker seemed sorry that it had happened in his parking lot, and he immediately let Thorn into his office to go over the security footage.

Unfortunately, it didn’t help. You could see even less of the guy’s face on the footage from the building’s cameras. He’d known they were there and made sure to never even look in that direction.

Chapter Ten

We were at home, cleaning up the dinner dishes, when there was a knock at the front door. A loud one. The kind when you just know it’s the police.

Well, the sheriff’s office around Coventry.

I went to the front window and looked out with Thorn right on my heels. That even got Tangerine up from her nap. She let out a few yippy barks before I told her to hush, and she settled back down.

“It’s Jeremy,” I said as I watched him raise his hand to knock again. “Do you think we’re in trouble? About the other day?”

“No, but let me handle him,” Thorn said. “If he’s coming by without calling first, it must be important.”

“Or he’s surprising us so he can arrest us,” I said.

“Kinsley, don’t panic. Stay in the house and let me handle him,” Thorn said, and his voice did stay calm.

“All right,” I said.

Thorn stepped outside instead of inviting Jeremy in, and I stayed at the window so I could listen. Hangman’s House had old windows, so I could hear what people were saying on the porch if I stayed right by glass.

“I thought I would come fill you in on something I just found out about Peppermint Howard’s death,” Jeremy began. “I know you’re not technically on the case, but I also know that you’re still… interested.”

“Please, go ahead,” Thorn said.

“We got a preliminary tox screen back, and it picked up arsenic in her system. Not enough to kill her, but it seems that whoever had been giving it to her had been doing it for a while,” Jeremy said. “So, my theory is that someone close to her had been trying to kill her that way, and perhaps they got tired of waiting.”

“That rules out Remy Skeenbauer,” Thorn said. “I hope that you’d already put that to bed, but if you hadn’t then now is the time to officially clear him.”

I loved Thorn for sticking up for my Dad first and foremost.

“You’re right,” Jeremy said. “We found no connections at all between him and Pepper, so it couldn’t be him. I hope that you and Kinsley know that I was never seriously considering him, but I had to do my job.”

“I know,” Thorn reassured him. “Just put the word out on the street that Remy is clear, okay? Do that for me. You know how gossip in this town can be.”

“Yes, and I know how that family… your new family can be when you wrong them. Trust me, Thorn, I’ll get the official word out,” Jeremy said.

“Thank you,” Thorn said.

“I heard Kinsley had some trouble at Utterly Uncorked today. Is she all right?” Jeremy asked.

“She is,” Thorn said. “It won’t hurt to put new tires on her car anyway. I’m upgrading them to something safer.”

I rolled my eyes at that, but I loved him for it.

“Well, I’m glad, and have her call Reggie. I think she heard and is worried too, but she had to go over to the nursing home after work. Otherwise, I’m sure she would have called Kinsley herself already,” Jeremy said.

“Will do,” Thorn said. “So, what’s next with the case? Are you going to take another look at the boyfriend?”

“He’s in the clear for sure. We’re branching out to anyone else she may have had regular contact with. I’m starting with her coworkers. I’ve heard she had a close friend at the grocery store. The woman’s name is…” Jeremy pulled out his notebook and checked his notes, “her name is Belinda Carpenter. I’m going to talk to her tomorrow at the station.”

“You’re questioning her? Do you think that she’s a suspect?” Thor asked.

“It’s an interview,” Jeremy said. “I’m more looking for information at this time, and while it’s possible she could be a suspect, she’s not even a person of interest right now.”

“But you think she could be?” Thorn pressed.

Jeremy shrugged. “I’ll let you know more after I talk to her.”

Thorn came back inside after he was done talking to Jeremy. “You get all that?” he asked me with a smile.

“I did,” I said. “You knew I was there?”

“I could see you, sweetie. I don’t think Jeremy did, though,” Thorn answered.

“Tucker couldn’t have slashed my tires,” I responded.

“What?” Thorn looked confused.

“If it was the boyfriend who killed her, then who slashed my tires and why?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Thorn said plainly.

“It’s entirely possible that the two events aren’t related,” I said. “It would be a huge coincidence, but it is possible.”

“He had an alibi anyway,” Thorn said.

“He did,” I admitted with a sigh. “Maybe there was another man. Tucker certainly wasn’t committed to Pepper, and he said Pepper wanted it that way.”

“Maybe one of her friends knows who else she might have been seeing,” Thorn offered. “It sounded like she had at least one close friend at work.”

“That’s a good idea,” I said, “but I can think of someone that was closer. Her friend that lived down the hall. Josh might know who she was seeing. He might know if other men were coming or going. If there were, then perhaps some sort of jealousy is